ABSTRACT
The US can draw upon powerful support from its Southern Gulf allies, and Iran and Iraq face major limitations. It is difficult to summarize the complex and constantly changing structure of US war-fighting capabilities in the Gulf. The changes in US forces and strategy since Desert Storm have made significant cuts in the total pool of forces the US has available to deploy in power projection missions, and raise grave doubts about the ability of the US to fight two near simultaneous major regional contingencies. The US enjoys major qualitative advantages over most Third World forces, particularly nations like Iran and Iraq. It is easy to oversimplify the situation and to deal with US capabilities in terms of dire warnings or exaggerated complaisance. In reality, however, the trends in US military capabilities in the Gulf are highly complex and are often contradictory.
